Helio is Back and Slower Than Ever

Years ago, there was a time when cellphone companies tried to be cool. Most of them weren’t, except for one. Helio came on the market in 2006 with promises of fast 3G data that would delight your phone with games, music, video, and more. Their phones were cool, offering a selection of handsets that no other carrier had.

These phones included the Kickflip, which was colored with a modern glossy white finish and featured a head-turning rotating screen.One of their other great devices, the Ocean, was an ahead-of-its-time slider phone featuring two keypads for the ultimate texting experience. Helio failed to capture the market and eventually fizzled out of existence. But fear not, Helio is back with an undeniably cheap plan with unlimited text, calls, and data. The plan is $29 flat, which means even the taxes are included. Sounds like a pretty good deal until you find out that data is capped at a jaw-droppingly-low speed.

If you want to browse the web, download an application, or even search for directions, you will be streaming data at 128kbps or less. That’s as slow as dial-up and even slower than Helio’s previous data speeds from all the way back in 2006.

Some of us don’t need cellular data and Helio’s $29 plan might be just the right deal. It runs on Sprint’s nationwide network and uses Verizon’s towers for roaming at no additional cost. There are no contracts to sign and you can bring your iPhone to the network if you have one.

One big deterrent regarding the “bring your own device” deal, is that the iPhone must’ve been a Sprint phone and there must not be any money owed on the device.

If you happen to have a Sprint iPhone and don’t mind excruciatingly slow data speeds, the newly revived Helio might be for you. Take precaution however, history repeats itself. Helio will most likely have been brought back to life, just to die again.

Do you remember Helio? What was your favorite device? Would you ever choose a carrier that capped data speeds that low?